Registration frustrations

As I sat down to register for classes this past week, I was not only nervous that all my necessary classes would be full, but I was also frustrated – frustrated with the course registration system for a variety of reasons.

First of all, how did some students get to “pre-register” for courses? From what I’ve heard, they were already signed up for their classes before their assigned registration time. Someone please explain to me how this works and why only certain students had access to it.

Next, I was annoyed because for some reason many of the required core courses only had two or three sections offered for the fall semester. How does the administration think all of the students within their major are going to complete all of the necessary classes if only two sections are opened? For example, I’m a public relations major, and public relations research is a required course. However, there were only two classes offered. I was able to put in a request form to be placed in the class, but I’m sure there were other students who weren’t able to do so.

But the main thing that really bothered me while I was registering was selecting a QU 201 class. Having to put a large amount of my tuition money toward a course that I really do not care to take rubs me the wrong way. I would much rather be taking a course that is directed toward my major or minor instead of a class that is basically like a “homeroom” from high school. I understand why QU 101 is a requirement because it’s a good way for freshmen to bond with one another, but requiring sophomore and juniors to take QU 201 and 301 required is a waste of time and money. I also understand that we all need to be well-rounded individuals and gain some experience in a variety of fields, but I think we should be able to select these extra courses that are outside our major. Leave QU 101 as a requirement if we must, but QU 201 and 301 should only be considered electives that students can choose to take if they wish. (And I would predict that interest would be slight.)

I have the same feelings about a required science with a lab. Why do I need to take Biology 105 with a lab instead of putting my time into a psychology or English course that would better my time here in college and help me in my career? I know that a lot of students complain about this and use the same argument, but seriously, I can assure you I will never need to use Biology in my daily work life.

Again, I do want to be a well-rounded person, but I just ask administration to change the requirement set up around a bit. I believe it would be beneficial for all students to be able to pick their elective courses instead of taking classes that will not be helping their future, which essentially is the main reason we’re all here, right? Right.